A Dinner Worth Forgetting
by New Divides
Summary: Elsa narrowed her eyes. 'Then why did you excuse yourself from dinner so early? You barely touched your food,' 'Elsa I'm fine,' Hans repeated, slightly annoyed. 'If you were fine, you would have stayed. Obviously you are not so-' 'I'm fine Elsa' Hans barked, immediately regretting it. Warning: Mentions of neglect


**A/N: Writer's block hit me hard whilst this was in progress, but I managed to get it out in the end. **

**Just be aware that this does mention neglect, so be careful guys.**

* * *

Elsa first notices it while at dinner one night.

She doesn't say anything, as it would be impolite, but she notices it nonetheless.

Whilst Kristoff &amp; Anna are in the midst of a conversation, Hans seemed to have barely touched his food, as opposed to her sister &amp; her 'boyfriend' as she put it eating more than enough for several people at once.

Almost a year after The Great Thaw, Elsa had received a letter from King Patrik of the Southern Isles, stating that Hans, the man who tried to kill her &amp; left her sister to die, had been exiled from the Southern Isles &amp; was being sent to Arendelle, so that she could deal out his punishment, which ended up in him being locked in the dungeons. Elsa had come to him after a few weeks, &amp; talked to him. Hans had spat insult at her in his cell, but despite the fact that she wanted to freeze him on the spot, she managed to remain calm &amp; explained why she came to talk to him. She wanted to try &amp; change him.

Well, not really change him, but make him a better person.

He'd scoffed at the idea, stating that she wouldn't be able to 'fix' him as he'd put it. All she'd said in response was she would try anyway. At first, it seemed that her efforts were in vain. But slowly, the snide comments &amp; sarcastic banter stopped &amp; was replaced with polite conversation. Eventually, she had offered him a position within the castle guard ranks, with certain conditions, which he accepted after thinking it over. He had performed his duties better than most expected.

Many had expected him to escape the second he had the chance, but he proved everyone wrong by remaining within the castle limits. Strangely enough, it seemed that Elsa had become attracted to Hans, obvious to everyone but herself, as well as Hans becoming attracted to her, which in turn caused minor conflicts amongst him &amp; the other guards. However, the two of them soon admitted their feelings towards one another, &amp; became a couple.

As Elsa discreetly observed Hans from across the table, she noted that he had in fact touched his food, but only to a minimal amount. He then stood up, excused himself from the table &amp; made his way to his chambers for the evening.

Elsa frowned, watching him leave. This wasn't like him.

She quietly excused herself from the table &amp; made her way to his chambers, wanting to know what was wrong.

* * *

'Hans?'

Hans jumped at the sound of his name, not expecting anyone to be in his chambers. He relaxed when he saw that it was just Elsa.

'Yes?'

He turned to face her.

'Is something wrong?' she asked.

Hans tensed up. 'Nothing's wrong,' he lied.

Elsa narrowed her eyes. 'Then why did you excuse yourself from dinner so early? You barely touched your food,'

'Elsa I'm fine,' Hans repeated, slightly annoyed.

'If you were fine, you would have stayed. Obviously you are not so-'

'I'm fine Elsa!' Hans barked, immediately regretting it.

Elsa froze, then scowled. 'Then why are you in here? What are you hiding from me?' she demanded.

Hans groaned &amp; sat down on the bed. Elsa took a seat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

'It's just..' Hans began, not wanting to look at her. 'I'm not used to eating that much,'

'What do you mean?' Elsa asked, not sure if she wanted to know why.

Hans sighed. 'While I was still living with my brothers, some of them somehow managed to persuade the staff that I wasn't hungry most nights, so they sent me to my chambers,'

Elsa wanted to speak, but decided to let Hans finish first.

'It got worse as I got older, then when I got sent to prison after...the incident...well, you can imagine what the rations were there,' Hans said bitterly.

Elsa was slightly shocked, but at the same time she wasn't. How many times had Hans told her stories of the neglect his own family put him through? Far too many.

Elsa hesitantly hugged Hans, who tensed up then relaxed. 'Sorry for shouting at you earlier,' he mumbled.

'If I'd known what was going on, I would not have pressed the issue,' Elsa said, letting go of him. 'So I should be the one apologising,'

Hans nodded. 'So what do we do?' he asked.

'Well, maybe we could start by having you not leave the dining room from now on until you have eaten enough,' Elsa suggested.

Hans smiled. 'Okay,' he said, looking at Elsa for the first time since they started talking.

'And tell me if you're still hungry well after dinner. I'll get you something from the pantry,' Elsa said.

Hans chuckled. 'You don't have to do that,' he said.

Elsa planted kiss on his cheek. 'But I will,'

Hans laughed. 'Okay,'


End file.
